Exercise chair

ABSTRACT

An exerciser is provided in the form of an armchair having a body-carrying seat member mounted on the chair for rotary reciprocating motion about a vertical axis relative to the chair including its legs, back and arms. Power driving mechanism is provided for effecting the rotary reciprocating motion of the seat member so that a person sitting on the seat will have imparted to his buttocks a movement which will exercise his leg muscles when his feet are on the floor, his arm muscles when his arms or hands are engaging the arms of the chair and his back muscles through his arms or directly if his back is against the back of the armchair.

United States Patent Schenck et al.

[54] EXERCISE CHAIR [72] Inventors: William G. Schenck; Earl T. Stark,both of 201 North Riverside Drive, Pompan Beach, Fla. 33062 [22] Filed:Mar. 15, 1971 [21] Appl.No.: 124,201

[451 June 6,1972

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 250,598 9/1912 Germany ..l28/33 PrimaryExaminerL. W. Trapp AttorneyYoung & Thompson ABSTRACT An exerciser isprovided in the form of an armchair having a body-carrying seat membermounted on the chair'for rotary reciprocating motion about a verticalaxis relative to the chair including its legs, back and arms. Powerdriving mechanism is provided for effecting the rotary reciprocatingmotion of the seat member so that a person sitting on the seat will haveimparted to his buttocks a movement which will exercise his leg muscleswhen his feet are on the floor, his arm muscles when his arms or handsare engaging the arms of the chair and his back muscles through his armsor directly if his back is against the back of the armchair.

10 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures EXERCISE CHAIR This invention relates to anexercising device and more particularly has reference to a devicewherein a person can have the muscles of his feet, ankles, legs, back,shoulders, arms, wrists and hands exercised without the personpositively on his own behalf making any movements but by merely relaxingand in effect resisting in varying degrees at his option, movements tothe various parts of his body, which are imparted thereto by apower-driven device which imparts rotary reciprocatory movement about avertical axis to his buttocks.

Various exercising devices of a so-called passive body exercising typehave been developed wherein vibratory or oscillatory motion is impartedto portions of a persons body while lying on a body support. Anothertype of exercising device has been devised which consists of a turntableon which the person desiring exercise must stand and balance himselfwhile motion is imparted to his feet. Such a device tends to set thepersons body in motion, and such motion is resisted by the inertia ofthe person's body. This type of device requires considerable ability ofthe person to balance himself and to avoid 7 being thrown from theturntable. Such type of device obviously would be impractical anddangerous for use by elderly or infirmed persons who probably have moreneed for the exercise than a young person capable of balancing himselfon the turntable.

In accordance with the present invention, the exercising device is inthe form of an armchair in which the person to be exercised may sit andrelax with his feet on the floor, his arms and hands on the arms of thearmchair and if desired his back engaging the back of said armchair.Exercising motion is transmitted to the buttocks of the person sittingin the armchair by means of a seat having reciprocating rotary motionabout a vertical axis and to which motion is imparted by means of apower-driven mechanism.

An object of the present invention is to provide an exercising devicewhich avoids the disadvantages of the prior art devices.

Another object of this invention is to provide an exercising devicewherein motion is imparted to the buttocks of a person sitting in achair and the various muscles of the persons ankles, legs, shoulders,arms and hands are exercised by engagement of the persons feet with thefloor, his arms and hands on the arms of the armchair and his backengaging the back of the chair.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a mechanism whichwill impart to the buttocks of a person being exercised a slow, rotary,reciprocatory motion through a small arc of oscillation and at such aspeed as to effectively exercise most of the persons muscles without inany way endangering the person.

In order to more clearly understand the present invention, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an armchair embodying the principles ofthe present invention;

FIG. 1A is a fragmentary perspective view similar to that of FIG. 1showing an embodiment having adjustable back and arm portions;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1; FIGS. 3and 3A are similar views taken on line 3-3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3 with partsof the mechanism in one position;

FIG. 5A is a view similar to that of FIG. 5 with parts of the mechanismin a different position; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the linkage taken on line 66of FIG. 5A.

Referring to the drawings, an embodiment of the invention is shownwherein an armchair is depicted having a seat portion 1 supported byground or floor-engaging means in the form of legs 2. The legs 2 may beinterconnected by rungs or bracing members to impart rigidity to theground or floor-engaging means. The lower ends of the legs are providedwith feet memwith cross members 7. Only one cross member has been shownin FIG. 1 to better illustrate the body-carrying seat member 8, butobviously as many back cross members as desired or necessary may beemployed.

Posts 6 serve as supports for the rear ends of arms or arm supports 9.As shown, arms 9 are carried at their forward portions by posts orupstanding members 10 of any desired shape or design. Of course ifdesired arms 9 and members 10 can be integral.

Actually the chair structure so far described may be of any of the manywell-known designs and conventional chairs can be modified to embody thefeatures of the present invention.

According to this invention reciprocatory rotary motion is imparted tothe buttocks of a person using the exerciser. For this purpose thebody-carrying seat member is mounted on the seat portion 1 of the chairby means of a center pivot pin or bolt 11 provided with a head 12 and athreaded body which passes through the body-carrying seat member 8 andthe seat portion 1. A nut 12a is threaded on body 11 to retain the boltin position. A concentric annular bearing 14 is interposed between seatmember 8 and seat portion 1. Bearing 14 is of the thrust type andincludes races with interposed balls.

Actually the bearing 14 is of a well-known type and is formed of twosheet metal discs 14a and 1412 which are shaped to provide ball races14c and 14d which receive balls Me which are embraced by an annular cageor retainer 14f. The center of discs 14a and 14b are provided withregistering openings through which a boss 14g passes. This boss isprovided with an upper head and the lower end is pressed outwardly tosecure the two discs 14a and 14b together.

Upper disc 14a is provided with ears on its outer periphery throughwhich screws 14h pass into the seat member 8. Lower disc 14b is providedwith ears through which bolts l4i pass to secure the lower disc 14b tothe seat portion 1.

Bolt 11 as previously mentioned passes through the boss 14g and the seatportion 1 and serves as a' safeguard to maintain the assembly together.

This structure provides an assembly which fully supports the weight of aperson and yet may be driven in reciprocating rotary motion by alow-powered electric motor 13.

As shown in FIG. 1, motor 13 is provided with a cord 15 equipped with aplug 15a for connection to an electric plug receptacle. A bracket 16serves to mount the motor on the under side of seat portion 1 of thechair. Drive shaft 17 of the motor 13 extends upwardly through thebracket 16 and carries a drive wheel 18 provided with an upstandingcrank pin 19.

The reciprocable rotatably mounted seat member 8 carries a drive pin 20which extends downwardly through seat 1 and is rigidly secured inposition by a boss 21 having a flange 22 which is anchored to the underside of the seat member 8 by bolts 23 or other attaching means. Pin 20extends through an arcuate slot 24 in the stationary seat portion 1 ofthe chair. Slot 24 is of a width and length to permit the pin 20 tofreely reciprocate therein.

Reciprocatory rotary motion is imparted to the seat member 8 by aconnecting rod or link 25 which is connected at one end to the crank pin19 on the wheel 18 and at its other end to the drive pin 20. Since theweight of a person sitting on seat member 8 may be several hundredpounds there will be considerable inertia resisting change in directionof movement of seat member 8. To offset the undesirable effect on themechanism the connecting rod or link 25 comprises two relatively slidingparts, 25a which is connected to crank pin 19,

and 25b which is connected to drive pin 20 of the seat member 8. Whilelink 25 may be constructed in various manners by way of example part 25bis generally U-shaped in cross section and as shown in FIGS. A and 6 hasthe free edges 26 of the flanges 27 turned under the part 250 so as toembrace pan 25a. This construction enables part 25b to freely sliderelative to part 25a.

As shown in FIGS. 5, 5A and 6, part 25a is provided with a longitudinalslot 28 through which pin 20 may freely slide and a second longitudinalslot 29 through which a pin or post 30 carried by part 25b may freelyslide.

A pair of spaced posts 31 and 32 are carried by part 25a and extenddownwardly between the inturned edges 26 of flanges 27.

Tension springs 33 and 34 extend between post 30 and posts 31 and 32 asclearly shown. Springs 33 and 34 tend to maintain post 30 midway betweenposts 31 and 32 and are selected of appropriate size and force to enableseat member 8 to be driven in reciprocatory rotary motion with minimumshock to the drive mechanism and the chair.

It has been found that even with the above-described construction of thelink 25, particularly with a heavy person, it is desirable to provide ashock-absorbing mechanism for reducing the shock of reversal of thedirection of movement of seat 8. Such shock-absorbing mechanism may beconstructed as shown in FIGS. 3, 3A and 4 wherein a pin or post 35carried by seat member 8 extends downwardly through a second arcuateslot 36 in seat portion 1 of a width to enable post 35 to freelyreciprocate therein. At each end of slot 36 bumpers 37 are providedwhich are carried by brackets 38 mounted on seat portion 1. Springs 39resist movement of bumpers 37 when engaged by post 35 as shown in FIG.3A.

Motor 13 is a so-called gear motor, that is a motor with a built-inreduction gear. While any speed suitable for the purpose may be used, itwas found that when shaft 17 had a speed of 30 r.p.m. the seat member 8had an oscillatory motion that was very satisfactory.

To enable the exercise chair to be used by persons of different sizesthe legs are provided with adjustable devices 3, 4 to vary the height ofseats 1 and 8 from the floor as previously described. Other adjustmentsfor the arms and back are provided as shown in FIG. 1A. In this figure,back 5a has cross members 70 the lower one of which is attached by boltsand thumb screws 41 to one side of a piano or other suitable hinge 42,the other side of the hinge being attached to seat 1. Hinge 42 makes itpossible to adjust the angle of the back 5a relative to seat 1. Slots 43are provided in hinge 42 through which studs carrying thumb screws 43aextend to permit vertical adjustment of back 5a relative to seat 1.

Arms 9a have angle brackets 44 attached to the forward under sidethereof. The vertical arms of brackets 44 are provided with slots 45through which studs 46 carried by posts a extend and which are providedwith thumb screws 47 to enable the brackets to be secured in verticallyadjusted positions to the posts 10a.

The rear of arms 9a are secured to back 5a by hinges 48. One part ofeach hinge 48 is fixed to back 5a and the other parts are provided withslots (not shown) similar to slots 45 to enable the back to be tilted tovarious angles and secured to the rear portions of arms 9a by thumbscrews 49.

With various adjustments shown in FIG. 1A the chair can be adjusted toaccommodate various-sized persons and enable them to enjoy the benefitsof the exercise chair.

Only the bare essentials of the exercise chair have been shown anddescribed but quite obviously the chair" may be upholstered anddecorated as desired to make pleasing in appearance as well as useful.Also seat 8, arms 9, 9a and back 5, 5a may be padded, fitted withcushions or suitably upholstered to ensure maximum comfort to a personusing the same.

It has been found that an exercise chair constructed as herein describedenables a person sitting on a chair of appropriate size or an adjustablechair adjusted to their size to obtain exercise of various ortions oftheir body. For instance, when sitting on seat 8 will e the motor 13 ISenergized the persons buttocks has rotary reciprocating motion impartedthereto. By pressing their feet on the floor, the muscles of their feet,legs and buttocks will tend to resist the rotary reciprocatory motionwith consequent exercise of the various muscles.

Upon pressing their arms on arms 9, 9a or by gripping arms 9, 9a withtheir hands the muscles of their hands, arms, shoulders and back may beexercised.

Similarly by varying the pressure of the person's back on back 5, 5a ofthe chair, back muscles, etc., will be exercised.

Having described our invention, We claim:

1. An exercising device comprising an armchair having a seat portion,ground or floor-engaging means extending downwardly from and carryingsaid seat portion, a back extending upwardly from said seat portion, armsupports mounted above and at the sides of said seat portion, abodycarrying seat member mounted on said seat portion for movement abouta vertical axis and power-driven means for imparting reciprocal rotarymovement to said seat member about said vertical axis.

2. An exercising device according to claim 1 wherein the ground orfloor-engaging means is provided with adjustable means for varying thedistance of the seat portion above the ground or floor.

3. An exercising device according to claim 1 wherein the height of thearms above the seat portion is adjustable.

4. An exercising device according to claim 1 wherein the height andangle of the back relative to the seat portion is adjustable.

5. An exercising device according to claim 2 wherein the height of thearms above the seat portion is adjustable.

6. An exercising device according to claim 1 wherein the ground orfloor-engaging means is provided with adjustable means for varying thedistance of the seat portion above the ground or floor, the height ofthe arms above the seat portion is adjustable, and the height and angleof the back relative to the seat portion is adjustable.

7. An exercising device according to claim 1 wherein the power-drivenmeans comprises an electric motor, a crank pin rotated in a circle, adrive pin carried by the body-carrying seat member and a connecting linkbetween the crank pin and drive pin.

8. An exercising device according to claim 7 wherein the connecting linkcomprises two parts relatively slidable with respect to each other andspring means for resisting relative sliding of one part with respect tothe other.

9. An exercising device according to claim 8 wherein the fixed seat isprovided with spaced bumpers and the movable seat member is providedwith means reciprocable between the bumpers to absorb shocks due tochange in direction of movement of the seat member.

10. An exercising device according to claim 9 wherein the ground orfloor-engaging means is provided with adjustable means for varying thedistance of the seat portion above the ground or floor, the height ofthe arms above the seat portion is adjustable, and the height and angleof the back relative to the seat portion is adjustable.

1. An exercising device comprising an armchair having a seat portion,ground or floor-engaging means extending downwardly from and carryingsaid seat portion, a back extending upwardly from said seat portion, armsupports mounted above and at the sides of said seat portion, abody-carrying seat member mounted on said seat portion for movementabout a vertical axis and power-driven means for imparting reciprocalrotary movement to said seat member about said vertical axis.
 2. Anexercising device according to claim 1 wherein the ground orfloor-engaging means is provided with adjustable means for varying thedistance of the seat portion above the ground or floor.
 3. An exercisingdevice according to claim 1 wherein the height of the arms above theseat portion is adjustable.
 4. An exercising device according to claim 1wherein the height and angle of the back relative to the seat portion isadjustable.
 5. An exercising device according to claim 2 wherein theheight of the arms above the seat portion is adjustable.
 6. Anexercising device according to claim 1 wherein the ground orfloor-engaging means is provided with adjustable means for varying thedistance of the seat portion above the ground or floor, the height ofthe arms above the seat portion is adjustable, and the height and angleof the back relative to the seat portion is adjustable.
 7. An exercisingdevice according to claim 1 wherein the power-driven means comprises anelectric motor, a crank pin rotated in a circle, a drive pin carried bythe body-carrying seat member and a connEcting link between the crankpin and drive pin.
 8. An exercising device according to claim 7 whereinthe connecting link comprises two parts relatively slidable with respectto each other and spring means for resisting relative sliding of onepart with respect to the other.
 9. An exercising device according toclaim 8 wherein the fixed seat is provided with spaced bumpers and themovable seat member is provided with means reciprocable between thebumpers to absorb shocks due to change in direction of movement of theseat member.
 10. An exercising device according to claim 9 wherein theground or floor-engaging means is provided with adjustable means forvarying the distance of the seat portion above the ground or floor, theheight of the arms above the seat portion is adjustable, and the heightand angle of the back relative to the seat portion is adjustable.